Who is Ilya Shakursky?

Who is Ilya Shakursky?

Monologue of the mother of a defendant in the Network case*

DOXA publishes a monologue by Elena Shakurskaya, the mother of a student at the Pedagogical Institute named after A. V.G. Belinsky Ilya Shakursky. The prosecution asked him to serve 16 years in a maximum security colony.

It is very difficult to describe another person in such detail as to reveal their personality. It is difficult to tell the human soul, the path of formation, thoughts and views in such a way as to correctly convey to the reader what kind of person Ilya Shakursky really is.

Ilya Shakursky is an ordinary young guy. Born April 10, 1996. He spent his childhood in the village. Mokshan, Penza region. Ilya himself always called himself a dreamer. And he really is. He always said that he dreams of a better life on our planet - for everyone. A feeling person, he always noticed the imperfections of our reality - injustice, lies and deception. This always hurt him deeply, but it also forced him to respond and encouraged him to be creative. He could not pass by someone who needed help, even if it was a random passerby. To the best of his ability, Ilya always helped his friends and supported them in the most difficult situations, never complaining of fatigue.

Ilya always did a lot for his hometown. He organized environmental events and cleanup days, where he gathered his like-minded people. Even after graduating from school and moving to Penza, where he continued to develop socially positive events (environmental actions, free markets and much more), he continued to support the initiatives of his friends who were trying in his native village. He helped people who found themselves in difficult life situations: for example, he participated in distributing food to the homeless.

Ilya loves nature very much in its various manifestations. After all, the living world around us is so fragile. He not only enjoyed its beauty on hikes, but also did a lot to preserve nature for those living now and future generations. As already mentioned, he organized cleanup days on a regular basis. First in Mokshan, where he spent his school years, and later in Penza. He tried to instill this love for the world and care for it in his friends. Ilya helped stray animals, tried to give homes to those that had been abandoned or found.

Ilya’s friend likes to remember one incident. A few years ago, he and his friends were walking around his native village. At some point, the company split up, Ilya and his friends went towards the Moksha River. After some time, he returned: in wet clothes and with a kitten in his arms. It turned out that when the guys were walking along the shore, they heard someone's plaintive squeak. Somehow the animal ended up in the middle of the water and could not get to shore on its own. Then Ilya decided to help - he climbed into the water and took the kitten. Simply because I couldn’t do it any other way.

Ilya is a man of principles, a man of ideals. This does not prevent him from developing and growing all the time, from being critical of himself and his worldview. Probably, it was this ability that gave him the opportunity to communicate with people of different views and worldviews - he knew how to listen and hear others. He could argue for a long time and passionately, especially if it concerned things that were important to him, but sometimes he changed his mind, like any smart and thoughtful person, open to new knowledge.

He read a wide variety of books, loved Russian classics - Lermontov and Kuprin (both are fellow countrymen of Ilya), and was also interested in the work and philosophical research of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. Ilya himself composes and continues to create, despite all the difficulties. Several of his poems have now been published on the Internet. His creative energy was also evident in music. Ilya received a musical education in piano while still a schoolboy. Then he played in a musical group - first in Mokshan, and then in Penza. Ilya set his own poems to music and performed them himself. In general, music accompanied him everywhere he went.

And it’s worth saying that Ilya is not a man in himself. He is open to the world - with all its joys and tragedies. The latter resonated deeply in his heart. As a child, he listened to his great-grandfather’s stories about the horrors of the Great Patriotic War, and this left a significant imprint on his worldview. He understood early on what chauvinism and intolerance towards other people lead to, and tried with all his activities - both public and private - to show how important it is for people to accept each other, work together, and help each other become better.

Ilya Shakursky is an ordinary young guy. He has his own plans and goals, thoughts and doubts, ideals and dreams, likes and dislikes. He is a wonderful person, a wonderful son and grandson, a great friend. But now he is going through trials under the pressure of which even a much older and more experienced person would break. And he holds on. Because he believes that good will win.